Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Lila

It had been a week since Ryder divorced Delaney. He actually went through with it. The told me she had done something awful, something that left him traumatized, but he wasn’t ready to explain yet. He said he would tell me later when the words didn’t hurt so much. I understood, or at least I tried to. I told him to take whatever time he needed.

But a week passed. There were no calls or even texts from him. No replies to the dozens of messages I sent. Every time I called, it rang straight to voicemail. Every time I waited for the little “seen” mark under my messages, it never appeared

I started wondering if he was falling out of love. Maybe the divorce changed something in him. Maybe the guilt finally caught up. Maybe he realized I was too young, too complicated, and too much trouble,

I sat at the breakfast table staring at my plate. Mom noticed first.

“Are you alright, sweetie?” she asked, voice soft with concern.